← Videos · Energy & Permitting

Wright Discusses Hormuz Flows, Saudi Pipeline Damage and Refining on Fox Business

September 16, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:03:27

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox Business that Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which he described as the most important alternative route carrying several million barrels a day, had been attacked at three pumping stations, with damage assessments still under way, according to the Department of Energy’s upload of the interview. He said two stations appeared less damaged and one more heavily damaged, and that he expected the pipeline to return to service relatively soon.

Wright said 18 million barrels of oil and petroleum products had moved through the Strait of Hormuz the previous day with U.S. assistance, roughly pre-war levels, and that the seven-day moving average stood at about 11 million barrels a day across crude and refined products, a figure he said would keep rising. He said the United States was also pressing to move more refined products through the strait.

On refining, Wright said U.S. refineries had run at maximum capacity for months and needed maintenance, and that expanding American refining capacity was the larger challenge. Asked whether the Defense Production Act was an option, he said existing refineries that could raise output cost-effectively were being examined. He also previewed announcements on Venezuela, saying a major American oil company would discuss investments there and that Venezuela’s underused refining capacity could be developed.

Why it matters

The interview gives the administration’s operating picture of wartime energy logistics — pipeline bypasses, escorted Hormuz transits and a refining bottleneck — and signals Venezuela as the next source of production and refining announcements, as Wright described it.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: Secretary Wright’s statement that 18 million barrels moved through the Strait of Hormuz the previous day with U.S. assistance, with a seven-day average of about 11 million barrels a day. Flagged for the scoreboard editor; no verdict is published from this page.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Mornings with FOX Business’s Lauren Simonetti – September 16, 2026”, 2026-09-16 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-09-16). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.